Postage Stamp
An Introduction to Postage Stamp Collecting
Stamps are used by millions of people daily yet few of us give them any thought. We take them for granted, seeing them as mere functional objects. It is true that they are functional objects but not only. Ask any stamp collector and he or she will tell you that a stamp is a lot more than that. In the case of used stamps, a lot of them tell a story and reflect the period and mood of the country in which they were issued.
Let us backtrack for a while and talk about the history of stamps and how they came about. It is commonly accepted that stamps were first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1840 with the penny black stamp. It was a revolution of sorts since it meant that the sender had to pay the postage fee and not the recipient like before. Shortly after the two pence blue stamp was issued. On thing to note is that the United Kingdom is to this day the only country whose name does not appear on its stamps.
As you know, stamp collecting is a very popular hobby throughout the world. Some people prefer to collect brand new stamps while others prefer to collect used stamps that actually served their purpose. Some of course do not discriminate and collect both. There are a lot of different types of stamps. Some stamps are issued for collecting rather than postal use. Let us have a quick look at the type of stamps available and their characteristics.
First is the definitive stamp. This is simply your regular stamp in any denomination that you can buy at the post office. These stamps often feature symbols of the country of issuance. They usually begin at the smallest unit of currency and can go up to fifty to a hundred times the usual postage rate. Collectors are looking to collect every denomination of a definitive series.
The commemorative stamp, like its name suggests, is a stamp issued to commemorate an important event, person or location. A few of these are usually issued each year, the first day of issues normally taking place where in the location associated with the person or event.
Pictorial stamps, also referred to as simply pictorials, are stamps depicting a representative landscape of the country of issuance.
Revenue stamps are stamps that were not intended for mail (although some stamps could be used both for revenue and postage) but for collecting taxes and fees. These stamps actually predate the postage stamps. Revenue stamps are issued by the finance ministry.
About the Author
Mathieu Deprez is the webmaster of DeciDeca.com, an online store specializing in used French stamps, french postage stamps or timbres oblitérés as they are known in French.
Bruce Lee – Postage Stamp Campaign – Time Lapse Painting – Forza Motorsport 3
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The Stamp of Guilt $0.99 SHORT STORY 3600 words: An 8 year old Oregon boy and his family visit Grandfather John in Arkansas and is given a gift of postage stamps for his collection. Upon his return home the boy is startled by one of the stamps and struggles with returning the stamps. Readers have declared this tale “A Norman Rockwell painting…” with “an Edgar Allen Poe knife ending.”… |
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Warman’s U.S. Stamps Field Guide: Values and Identification (Warmans Field Guides) $9.10 The take-it-with-you collecting resource! At last, a guide you can really carry along to estate sales, garage sales, and flea markets, containing 1,000 color photographs and current pricing to make on-the-spot appraisals easy. New to this edition! Feature chapters on Christmas stamps and Error stamps 1,000 detailed color photos Listings for all 4,250+ U.S. regular-issue and Airmail stamps from 1… |
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History of the postage stamps of the United States of America (Vol-1) $22.99 This book was digitized and reprinted from the collections of the University of California Libraries. Together, the more than one hundred UC Libraries comprise the largest university research library in the world, with over thirty-five million volumes in their holdings. This book and hundreds of thousands of others can be found online in the HathiTrust Digital Library. HP’s patented BookPrep tec… |
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Lee Ultimate Stamp Dispenser, Black (40100) $4.79 The Lee Ultimate Stamp Dispenser is an easy to use, self-adhesive stamp, address label or sticker dispenser. The patented dispenser is durable, reusable and easily separates backing paper from stamps. Use 50 or 100 count rolls of stamps, labels or stickers up to 1 inch wide…. |
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Fiskars X-Large Squeeze Punch, Postage Stamp $11.09 Flipped everything over so you do not have to. Now you can easily see when the paper is lined up. No more half punches, no more wasted paper. The perfect match every time. Sit down and relax, no more standing up to push with all your might. This revolutionary punch needs very little manpower-just one little squeeze punches through anything from copy paper to heavy cardstock. Available in a range o… |
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K and Company – Around the World Collection – Embossed Stickers with Glitter Accents – Postage Stamp $2.99 Each package includes 20 stickers…. |
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80 Genuine Postage Stamps Assortment – United States $9.99 This kit contains three album pages which fit into any three-ring binder, mounting hinges, and 45 genuine postage stamps of various denominations and countries of origin…. |
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45 Genuine Postage Stamps Assortment – Space $8.99 This kit contains three album pages which fit into any three-ring binder, mounting hinges, and 45 genuine postage stamps of various denominations and countries of origin…. |
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45 Genuine Postage Stamps Assortment – Aviation $8.99 This kit contains three album pages which fit into any three-ring binder, mounting hinges, and 45 genuine postage stamps of various denominations and countries of origin…. |
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DYMO LabelWriter 450 Turbo High-Speed Postage and Label Printer for PC and Mac, USB, Printer and Software, Black/Silver (1752265) $129.99 Label faster. Mail smarter. Look sharp. DYMO® LabelWriter® 450 Turbo: The high-speed, hassle-free labeling and mailing solution for your busy office. Label, mail, and file smarter with proprietary DYMO® Productivity Software, featuring the new DYMO Label version 8, DYMO Stamps®, DYMO FileTM and Address FixerTM. DYMO Label version 8 software enables you to create and print address, shipping,… |
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